Profiles of Indian Prime Ministers Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru To Manmohan Singh

When Dr. Manmohan Singh was sworn in as India’s Prime Minister on May 22, 2004, he became the thirteenth person to assume this august office, following the fall of the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee after its debacle in the Lok Sabha election. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India. The first three decades were dominated by the Congreds Party. Morarji Desai was the first non-Congress Prime Minister who assumed office in 1977. The Prime Minister of India have come from different backgrounds. It would be a very interesting and instructive exercise to study the profiles of these Prime Ministers. The present author has done a good job of highlighting the contributions and achievements of the Prime Ministers in a systematic manner. Apart from the sketches of personalities of Prime Ministers, the author has also discussed important aspects of governance at the Centre. The two-chapters ‘Prime Minister and his Team’ are very useful as they describe how the Prime Minister as the pivot of the Union Government functions in Parliament and outside and oversees the work of his Council of Ministers. The book is must for those interested in the system of governance in India.

Manisha (b. 1977) obtained Master’s degree in Political Science from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. She has presented a number of papers at various seminars and conferences in different parts of the country. Her articles ranging from creativity in education, environment awareness among children and a weekly dairy of Indian political scenario as a regular column in a leading paper have been appreciated by readers. She was a visiting faculty in Lady Irwin College, New Delhi. At present she is actively engaged in a project ‘Impact of Changing Political Scene on Development of Society in Urban Cities’ sponsored by a Delhi-based NGO.